2 of 3

His proposal: It's not enough to stress the importance of orientation and debriefing as ways of augmenting the short-term mission experience—something you'll hear from any STM expert worth her salt. Instead, the STM needs to be treated as one small module that augments a much longer and more intense course of learning.

Peterson, for his part, applauds Ver Beek's attempts to verify giving reports and fill in the third-world side of the equation, but questions some of his calculations. "The data appears to be manipulated with a strong bias," he says.

Ver Beek freely admits that others could interpret his data differently. "It's true, there was a small increase in giving. But after all the time and effort and money spent on these trips, is an increase of a few dollars success?"

For Ver Beek, who has lived in Honduras for most of the last 20 years and worked closely with community development organizations, the answer is no.

Peterson, president of STM sending agency STEM Ministries, also questions the assumption that the money raised for STMs would be available for direct donation to third world organizations. Most people are simply less willing to aid a distant cause than to help a friend or coworker go on a trip, he says.

"What I would do would be to increase fees to hire Honduran workers to work side by side with the volunteers," says Peterson. That way, the money would be sure to be raised, third world workers would be given work, and North Americans could still participate in valuable cultural and spiritual sharing."

Ver Beek is directing a follow-up study involving more than 1,000 STM participants and third world beneficiaries in Honduras, Haiti, Kenya, and Thailand.

He plans develop orientation curriculums for both North American STM groups and for the third world communities they visit. Until now, orientation for third-world beneficiaries has usually amounted to, "They're showing up next week! Clear out the church, and here's the mattresses!" says Ver Beek.

Abram Huyser Honig is a freelance writer and photographer living in Tegucigalpa, Honduras.

Ver Beek and Trinity Evangelical Divinity School's Robert J. Priest discuss the effects of short-term missions and why such missions are so popular.

Day One | Day Two | Day Three | Day Four | Questions

Copyright © 2005 Christianity Today. Click for reprint information.

Ver Beek's study, along with a PowerPoint synopsis and bibliography, are available at his Calvin College site.

Ver Beek presented his paper at the 2005 missiology conference at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Deerfield, Illinois.

Earlier parts in this series include:

Who Gets 'Socially Rich' from Short-Term Missions? | How communities feel about themselves after receiving a group may be more important than the number of latrines dug or homes built. (July 8, 2005)

Mission Trips or Exotic Youth Outings? | Not everything in your church's missions budget may be about missions. (July 7, 2005)

Do Short-term Missions Change Anyone? | Or do one week's good intentions fall flat without a concerted effort to follow through? (July 6, 2005)

Are Short-Term Missions Good Stewardship? | More than 2 million teens go on such trips ever year, and giving may exceed that given to long-term missionaries. But is short-term ministry built to last? (July 5, 2005)

next page... |  2 of 3

share this page

June (Web-only) 2005, Vol. 49